COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

Claim Against ICAR

On June 11, 2018, a claim was filed before Court of First Instance 5 (Juzgado de Primera Instancia) of Barcelona, Spain, the first instance court in the Spanish civil procedure system, against ICAR Vision Systems, S.L. (“ICAR”). The claim, also directed towards Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa, the former controlling shareholder of ICAR and its current General Manager at the time the claim was filed, was brought by the Spanish company Global Equity & Corporate Consulting, S.L. for an alleged breach by ICAR of a services agreement entered into in the context of the sale of all of the shares in ICAR to Mitek Holding B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. ICAR responded to the claim on September 7, 2018. After several postponements as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 3, 2022 the trial was held. On June 7, 2022, the Court of First Instance 5 of Barcelona issued a judgment which fully upheld the claim and declared that Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa and ICAR had to pay the amount and damages claimed by Global Equity & Corporate Consulting, S.L. equal to €0.8 million (or $0.8 million as of September 30, 2024), plus the interest accrued and the legal fees.

ICAR and Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa submitted an appeal against this judgment on July 13, 2022. Global Equity & Corporate Consulting, S.L. filed an opposition to that appeal on September 2, 2022. The next procedural step will be the voting and issuing of the ruling on the appeal. Global Equity & Corporate Consulting, S.L. requested the provisional enforcement of the judgment, asking ICAR and Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa to deposit the damages awarded plus 30% to cover the possible interests that may continue to accrue during the appeal (€1.1 million in total) with the Court.

According to the terms of the sale and purchase agreement concerning the acquisition of the shares in ICAR, Mitek Holding B.V. is to be indemnified in respect of any damages suffered by ICAR and/or Mitek Holding B.V. in respect of this claim. As a consequence, the escrow (€0.9 million) was released pursuant to the provisional enforcement of the judgment, and Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa deposited the remaining €0.2 million. Global Equity & Corporate Consulting, S.L. also requested that ICAR and Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa bear the costs of the provisional enforcement. This amounted to €16,475 for the accrued interests, and €10,995 as legal costs. ICAR and Mr. Xavier Codó Grasa have complied with this request, having such amounts charged to the damages deposited with the Court.

Third-Party Claims Against the Company’s Customers

The Company receives indemnification demands from end-user customers who received third party patentee offers to license patents and allegations of patent infringement. Some of the offers and allegations have resulted in ongoing litigation. The Company is not a party to any such litigation. License offers to and infringement allegations against the Company’s end-customers were made by Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC; Lupercal, LLC; Pebble Tide, LLC; Dominion Harbor Group, LLC; and IP Edge, LLC, which appear to be non-practicing entities (“NPEs”)—often called “patent trolls”—and not the Company’s competitors. These NPEs may seek to extract settlements from our end-customers, resulting in new or renewed indemnification demands to the Company. At this time, the Company does not believe it is obligated to indemnify any customers or end-customers resulting from license offers or patent infringement allegations by the companies listed above. However, the Company could incur substantial costs if it is determined that it is required to indemnify any customers or end-customers in connection with these offers or allegations. Given the potential for impact to other customers and the industry, the Company is actively monitoring the offers, allegations and any resulting litigation.

Since 2018, United Services Automobile Association (“USAA”) has filed suit against various parties alleging patent infringement concerning four USAA-owned patents related to mobile deposits, including Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”) and PNC Bank. While these lawsuits do not name the Company as a defendant, given (among other factors) the Company’s prior history of litigation with USAA and the continued use of the Company’s products by its customers, on November 1, 2019, the Company filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking declaratory judgment that its products do not infringe certain patents held by USAA (collectively, the “Subject Patents”). On January 15, 2020, USAA filed motions requesting the dismissal of the declaratory judgement of the Subject Patents and transfer of the case to the Eastern District of Texas, both of which the Company opposed. On April 21, 2020, the Court in the Northern District of California transferred the Company’s declaratory judgement action to the Eastern District of Texas and did not rule on USAA’s motion to dismiss. On April 28, 2021, the Court in the Eastern District of Texas granted USAA’s motion to dismiss the Company’s declaratory judgment action on jurisdictional grounds. The Court’s ruling did not address the merits of the Company’s claim of non-infringement. The Company appealed the ruling on the motion to dismiss and the decision to transfer the declaratory judgment action from California to Texas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit heard oral argument on the Company’s appeal on April 4, 2022 and on May 20 2022, issued an opinion vacating and remanding the district court’s order granting USAA’s motion to dismiss. On August 1, 2022, the parties submitted additional briefing to the district court in light of Federal Circuit’s opinion. The court held another hearing on USAA’s motion to dismiss the Company’s declaratory judgment action on jurisdictional grounds, and once again granted USAA’s motion to dismiss on February 23, 2023. The Company timely filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The appeal is fully briefed, and the Company is awaiting oral argument. The Company continues to believe that its products do not infringe the Subject Patents and will vigorously defend the right of its end-users to use its technology.

On July 29, 2022, USAA filed another patent infringement lawsuit against Truist Bank (“Truist”) in the Eastern District of Texas. The lawsuit alleges infringement of the ’090 Patent, the ’432 Patent, and the U.S. Patent No. 11,182,753 (“the ’753 Patent”). The Company was not named as a defendant or mentioned in connection with any alleged infringement. On October 5, 2022, Truist’s integration partner, NCR Corporation, sent an indemnification demand to the Company requesting indemnification from all claims related to the lawsuit. For the same reasons discussed above in connection with the PNC Lawsuits, the Company does not believe it is obligated to indemnify NCR Corporation or end-users of NCR Corporation resulting from the patent infringement allegations by USAA. On October 7, 2022, Truist filed a motion to transfer venue to the Western District of North Carolina. The motion was denied on April 8, 2023. On December 30, 2022, Truist filed a motion for leave to file counterclaims against USAA alleging patent infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,336,813; 7,519,214; 8,136,721; and 9,760,797, which was granted on April 8, 2023. On March 13, 2023, USAA moved for leave to file a First Amended Complaint, adding an additional allegation of patent infringement of U.S. Patent No. 11,544,944 (“the ’944 Patent”). On April 4, 2023, Truist sent another indemnification demand to the Company requesting indemnification related to the lawsuit. On May 3, 2023, USAA moved for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint, adding an additional allegation of patent infringement of U.S. Patent No. 11,625,770 (“the ’770 Patent”). On May 30, 2023, Truist sent another indemnification demand to the Company requesting indemnification related to the Second Amended Complaint. On October 6, 2023, the parties filed a Notice of Settlement and Joint Motion and Stipulation of Dismissal. All claims and causes of action between the parties were dismissed with prejudice on October 10, 2023 in view of the settlement.

Claim Against UrbanFT, Inc.

On July 31, 2019, the Company filed a lawsuit against one of its customers, UrbanFT, Inc. (“UrbanFT”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (case No. 19-CV-1432-CAB-DEB). UrbanFT is delinquent in payment and attempted to justify its non-payment by asserting that the Company is or may be infringing on purported UrbanFT patents. The Company filed such lawsuit to collect the delinquent payments and to obtain a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of five purported UrbanFT patents. UrbanFT filed an answer and later asserted infringement of two of the five patents-at-issue in the Company’s lawsuit against UrbanFT. The Company thereafter filed counterclaims seeking a declaration that the two patents now asserted by UrbanFT are invalid in addition to being not infringed. During the course of the litigation, the Company learned that a judgment had been entered against UrbanFT’s affiliates and its predecessor owner in which an Oregon court ordered that the patents in issue revert to a prior owner, Mr. Stevens, because UrbanFT’s affiliates did not pay the purchase price owed to the prior owner. On September 8, 2020, the Company filed a motion for summary judgment on its breach of contract claim. On September 15, 2020, the district court issued an order to show cause regarding jurisdiction over patent issues in light of the Oregon judgment. On December 17, 2020, the district court dismissed Mitek’s claims for declaratory judgment of non-infringement and UrbanFT’s counterclaims for patent infringement and related affirmative defenses based on infringement of the patents for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because UrbanFT does not own the patents. The district court then dismissed the remaining state law claims without prejudice to refiling in state court.

On December 18, 2020, the Company filed a new suit against UrbanFT in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego (case no. 37-2020-00046670-CU-BC-CTL) asserting claims for breach of contract, open book account, and monetary damages. UrbanFT filed an answer and did not assert any cross-claims. The Company filed a motion for summary judgment which was heard on April 15, 2022. The Court granted the Company’s motion and on June 2, 2022, entered a judgment in favor of the Company for $1.7 million in compensatory damages, plus costs, including attorney’s fees. The Court awarded the Company $2,600 in costs plus $0.6 million in attorneys’ fees for a total judgment of $2.3 million. The time for UrbanFT to appeal the $1.7 million in compensatory damage judgment has expired but the time for UrbanFT to appeal the attorneys’ fee and cost award has not. No appeal has been filed.

On August 2, 2023, the Company filed a separate lawsuit against Richard Steggall, UFT (North America), LLC fka Urban FT LLC; Urban FT Group, Inc; Urban FT Client Solutions, LLC; UFT Professional Services, LLC; and X-35 Financial Technologies, in the San Diego Superior Court, (case No. 37-2023-00033005-CU-FR-CTL) (“Fraud Conveyance Action”). The Fraud Conveyance Action alleges that the Mr. Steggall orchestrated a scheme to strip UFT (North America), LLC of any assets and effectively transfer the Urban FT business to other entities he owns and controls, all to avoid the Company’s collection efforts. The Fraud Conveyance Action also alleges that Mr. Steggall funnels Urban FT’s revenues through a web of other entities he owns and controls, all to ensure that creditors, including the Company, cannot collect their debts. The parties have started discovery.

On February 23, 2024, the Court set the Fraud Conveyance Action for trial on March 14, 2025. Separately, the Company filed two motions to compel discovery set for April 12, 2024. The defendants have filed a motion to quash the Company’s subpoena to Chase Bank and the defendants filed an Order to Show Cause to hold the Company in contempt for violating the parties’ Protective Order. The Company anticipates filing its own motion for sanctions against defendants for their contempt motion.

On April 12, 2024, the Court granted the Company’s two motions to compel discovery and the parties are presently working through various issues in Urban FT’s discovery responses following the Court granting the motions to compel. Separately, the parties agreed to withdraw: (1) the subpoena to Chase Bank; (2) the motion to quash the subpoena to Chase Bank; (3) the Order to Show cause to hold Company in contempt; and (4) the Company’s motion for sanctions in response to the contempt motion.

The parties are also pursuing other discovery and preparing for trial which is set in March 2025.

Claim Against Maplebear, Inc (dba Instacart):

On December 13, 2021, Mitek filed a lawsuit against Maplebear Inc., d/b/a Instacart (“Instacart”), in California Superior Court – San Diego County (Case No, 37-2021-00052089-CU-BC-CTL)) (the “Instacart Lawsuit”). Mitek alleged causes of action for breach of contract as well as breach of the implied covenant and requested over $2.0 million in damages.

On August 3, 2018 Instacart entered into a Master Services Agreement (the “Master Services Agreement”) with Mitek agreeing to purchase a subscription to Mitek’s Mobile Verify Advanced service. On June 19, 2020, the parties entered into a second Order Form in connection with the Master Services Agreement. The Order Form had a term of June 18, 2020 to December 31, 2023 and called for an annual commitment of $1.2 million. On September 23, 2021, Instacart sent a letter to Mitek purporting to outline breaches under the Master Services Agreement. Mitek responded on November 11, 2021, refuting Instacart’s claims and offering to engage in further discussions. Instacart thereafter sent a Notice of Termination of the Master Services Agreement dated November 24, 2021.

The Parties participated in mediation on March 15, 2022. The mediation did not result in the resolution of the case and, following mediation, the Parties stipulated that Instacart’s response to Mitek’s complaint would be due on April 27, 2022. In lieu of filing a response to the complaint, Instacart elected to file a Motion to Transfer Venue to the County of San Francisco, which the Court denied, thereby keeping the case in the County of San Diego.

On November 28, 2022, Instacart filed a cross-complaint against Mitek alleging: (1) Fraudulent Inducement; (2) Intentional Misrepresentation; (3) False Advertising; (4) Fraudulent Business Practices; (5) Unlawful Business Practices; (6) Unfair Business Practices; (7) Breach of Contract; and (8) Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing. On January 27, 2023, Mitek filed a demurrer to the cross-complaint (the functional equivalent of a motion to dismiss). Both Parties also filed motions to compel further responses to written discovery requests. The Court did not decide the demurrer or the motions to compel before the Parties resolved and dismissed the case.

On September 29, 2023, the Parties reached an agreement to resolve the case. The terms of the settlement were completed and, on October 24, 2023, the Company filed a Request for Dismissal, signed by counsel for both parties and asking the clerk of the Court to dismiss the Company’s complaint and causes of action as well as Instacart’s cross-complaint and causes of action. The Court entered the Request for Dismissal on October 24, 2023 and dismissed the Parties’ respective claims with prejudice.

Other Legal Matters

As previously disclosed, the Company announced on October 27, 2022, and May 8, 2023, that a restatement of the Company’s previously issued unaudited interim financial statements was necessary. Following those restatements, the SEC opened an inquiry into the Company’s accounting practices and thereafter opened a formal investigation. The Company is cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The duration, scope, and outcome of this investigation are difficult to predict. At this time, the Company does not expect the outcome of this matter to have a material adverse effect on its consolidated results of operations, cash flows, or financial position.

In addition to the foregoing, the Company is subject to various claims and legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of its business. The Company accrues for such liabilities when it is both (i) probable that a loss has occurred and (ii) the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated in accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies. While any legal proceeding has an element of uncertainty, the Company believes that the disposition of such matters, in the aggregate, will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

Employee 401(k) Plan

The Company has a 401(k) plan that allows participating employees to contribute a percentage of their salary, subject to Internal Revenue Service annual limits. In 2015, the Company implemented a company match to the plan. The Company's contributions are made in an amount equal to 50% of the first 6% of an employee's designated deferral of their eligible compensation. The Company's total cost related to the 401(k) plan was $0.6 million, $0.5 million, and $0.7 million for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.